Gear talk.

I don't usually elaborate too much on my gear as I prefer to make any comments on it after its seen plenty of use but this past season has seen me use quite a few bits of kit (more to come as well) and I'd like to say a few things about them.

Rods and reels.
In the beginning of the season last year I acquired my first Daiwa reel after a long time since I last used one... It was a Daiwa Freams 2500 and the first impressions were very positive.  The reel had a very smooth drag and effortless winding. Long casting and light, it matched very well with my ML rods. A few months in though and after plenty of good fish it started loosing that smooth feeling. that didn't bother me much as I kinda expected it to happen. Where the reel disappointed me though was in the line lay. It may have looked very tight and symmetric on the spool but especially when I put on a fine 8-strand braid (YGK WX8) the problems started... I lost the first spool (30£) in only a few outings as I was having unexpected wind-knots way after the cast... I bought an other spool and also upgraded the line roller by adding an rbb thinking that this would help but unfortunately it didn't. I need to mention that I didn't experience similar problems with 4-strand braids on that reel although I didn't have more than a couple outings with 4-strand. In any case I sold the reel and decided to add a Light Shore Jigging Setup in my collection as I thought it could help me with the bigger fish here and also when fishing over thick kelp.
I chose the inexpensive Major Craft Solpara SPS-1002LSJ max 50g along with a Shimano Biomaster 4000SW and I have to say that this setup has done even more than I asked... I think there were only a handful of fish that cut me off on this setup and only in the roughest marks. The Biomaster though powerful, could've done with some more attention in assembly as I had to get a replacement handle knob cap and I now need 2 small screws as well (all got loose and fell off)...

 From my older reels (Stradic 1000fc and Stradic 2500F Ci4) both are going strong with the Ci4 having had a service and a new RBB. Recently though I started to notice (by a friend's comment as well) that the drags on both the reels were slipping and generally getting inconsistent. The smaller one wasn't great to begin with and thus I thought that an upgrade may be in line...
After googling around for info, I realised its an easy process to do and duly bought two Carbontex drag washer kits, each kit fitting to the according reel, for less than 10£ each. In addition I got some Cal's drag grease for lubing the washers.
The process went like this: I took apart the drag systems, removed the worn out felt washers, lightly lubed the Carbontex washers, polished the metal washers and put them in the original order they came out. From initial tests there is a marked difference (positive) to the feel of the drag although I'm told it will take some good runs to get them in optimal working order.

The original drag assembly on the Ci4.

Notice the muck...

Worn out felt washers..

Shreds of felt were stuck inside...

The 3 Carbontex washers in the bottom.

Braid and Line.
 Have been very happy with the Duel Hardcore X4 for a while now and I still consider it very good value for money. Tried the YGK G soul WX8 and was quite happy with knot strength, abrasion resistance etc though I'm not entirely sure that the wind knots were the reel's fault entirely. Regarding 8-strands, Ive had the Duel Xwire X8 on the Biomaster for a while now and it has proved to be a very good choice. Easy knotting, smooth and strong.
For my fluorocarbon leaders Ive mostly used Duel Hardcore Powerleader FC and the YGK Nitlon DFC. Both lines very dependable. I had high expectations for the Seaguar Ace fluorocarbon but it did not fare well with my knots. Good abrasion resistance though and a 'harder' feel to it than the others.

Offset Hooks.
I'm not gonna make this a full review of my tackle as it would be tedious but hooks (offset ones in this case) are very important especially at this time of year. Cant fault the Gamakatsu and Owners plus some of the newer VMC ones are holding up well (e.g 1x Strong) . Most of the Decoy ones like the 13 Salt and the RS worm hook worked well too. Wasn't very happy with the Crazy Fish ones, Mustad and Matzuo as they're either not sharp enough or too soft.

I have sold quite a bit of gear as well and making do with only (😆) 4 reels and 6 rods at the moment, covering from LRF (tub tip and solid) to finesse (solid tip), ML and Light Shore, not including the travel rods... My main aim for this season is to finally match a good Medium - Medium Heavy setup. Something in the lines of 9ft, 10-30g. I have already got the reel (3000 StradicFK) as I'm incapable of resisting a bargain and will be looking for a new rod soon!
Moreover I hope to get a quality long net for some of the high marks where access to the water level is tricky.

Recent fish average stamp.

Fishing wise the past week has seen rain and wind return to us but I've still had enjoyable and productive sessions even though I had to visit different marks to get out of the wind.
Seemed to be catching mostly smaller fish though and I'm considering that this may mean the bigger (adult) fish started moving to spawn. Will be out the first chance I get for some more!
Below some videos from recent sessions. Yes I can talk!

Tight Lines!

They are growing larger...

Last week was my birthday and thus I spend most of my time with my brother instead of fishing but after he left I quickly drove to one of my northern marks for a bit of shallow water fishing. The tide was nearing its ebb but the sun was out so after using the various shallow running hardbaits, I switched to a simple ripple tail worm on a Texas rig. The fish weren't in great numbers (end of the season its teeming with fish) but I managed to get a few literally under my feet! And these weren't small fish by any means!
I covered the area thoroughly with the Texas rig and then put on a metal for distance work. I got hit midway in and after feeling good weight initially, the line then went slack and I started winding it in steadily until it was too late... The crafty pollock was swimming towards me and into the snag! This happened again on the next cast and both fish were lost... I had bass swimming towards me in the past but never pollock in such a determined way! I also had a fish that was clearly caught again recently with a hook mark on its lips. Good C&R!
After a while I changed spot and being still a bit hangover, decided to just sit on a rock and make a few lazy casts around while waiting for the tide to turn... Well this is Skye though, and you should never drop your guard as I was hit by a serious fish soon after! It made a couple frantic runs but I soon had it under control and landed it with the help of my new lip-gripper. A lovely fish that went back soon after a couple pics.

Now that's a good birthday cake!

Some decent fish on the day...

A bit of wildlife...

...and a good'un.

I decided to move to a nearby mark after this as I thought I would get better action there as the tide was now on the rise. After a short drive and a hike, I was down to the second spot and the conditions looked ideal for minnows and maybe even topwaters...
I begun with softplastics to see if the fish were there and after getting busted by a fish on the first cast, I put on an Ima Hound Sonic 100f to search the area thoroughly (as it casts like a bullet).
A couple casts in and I got hit after some jerks, managing to land an average fish and that was followed by plenty more afterwards. I tried more hard baits and softplastics but as the sun was dipping lower in the horizon I felt it was time for topwaters. I tied a Duel Silver dog 90 but after some casts the fish ignored it. I persevered and switched to the Ima Salt Skimmer and the results were instantaneous! I'm convinced this is due to the slim profile of this lure but also its subtler action.

Ima hound..

Chinese cheapo!

Ima Salt Skimmer.

After catching a fish and witnessing a few explosive blow ups things quietened down and I decided it was time to go as I was also being eaten by midges! A very satisfying session and the first topwater fish of the year!
Something else that I've recently done is to upgrade the teflon ring on the roller of my Daiwa Freams 2500 with an actual roller bearing as its so much better when working with braid. Recently I felt the roller a bit 'sticky' at times and after realising that my Freams doesn't have a rbb (cheeky Daiwa!), ordered the upgrade kit from ebay for about 15 quid. The whole thing took only a few minutes to put in and I recommend it as I already feel the improved performance.

Damn you Daiwa! lol

Below some videos of the session.

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

Gear used.
Rod:  MC KG Evolution KGS-902L, 2.7m, 7-23g.
Reel: Daiwa Freams 2500
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 1.0
Leader: YGK Nitlon DFC flouorocarbon 16lbs
Lures:Various

Let the games begin...

This week saw a tremendous change in weather patterns and as if somebody flipped a switch it is now summer (well for these few days at least)! I was waiting for my chance to get to the water and got it on Monday as I was working in the afternoon and had the morning free.
The mark I was aching to fish but couldn't all this time was Aird, as it is exposed to Northerly and Easterly winds and had been too rough till now.
I woke up around 06:30 and drove to the mark. High tide was around 08:00 and the wind was only a light breeze. After the walk to the point I was greeted by a slightly rougher sea than I would've liked but still very fishable...
It was the first outing with my new Daiwa Freams 2500 reel and it was newly spooled with PE 1.0 Duel Hardcore X4 braid. The rod of choice was my MC KG Evolution Basic KGS-902L.
Its been a long time since I fished with a Daiwa reel but this season I'm looking to compare this Freams to my Stradic Ci4...
As the sea was choppy and the mark quite deep, I picked UV and vibrant coloured shads to mount on 16g-18g cheburashkas. These certainly did the trick, and I started getting hits OTD. I was surprised to see the fish hunting so high on the water column and they seemed to be in a feeding mode as I soon started getting them in! They were only average fish for Skye standards (2-3lbs) but very welcome, especially after the last few slow sessions. After a while, I got a better fish but unfortunately lost it on the way up... The fish weren't fighting very hard and seemed relatively lean, testament to the very cold water temperatures here (still below 9C!).

First of many...

A bit choppy..

Gleaming in the sun.

After the high tide point (and getting soaked by some large waves!) I changed lures to metals as the fish seemed to be getting more aggressive. At some point I hooked a nice fish and was bringing it in before it managed to get snagged close in. I felt it getting free and applied more pressure when suddenly my reel started screaming and loosing line! This went on for a few minutes at least and it took me a while to think of taking a video on my mobile!
Below is the last part of it before my line broke off near the leader knot...

I retied and cast again, caught another decent pollock and then the same thing happened at the same area (the lip of the ledge before deep water). Now I've caught a seal before on this rod but it didn't feel like this. Moreover for the duration of the session (3hours approx), I saw no signs of any seals about, and they are not usually very inconspicuous. I really have no clue of what it was (Tuna lol!) but it took about 70m of new braid with it along with my fish and lure... On a positive note, the drag of the Freams proved to be top notch!
I think this is going to be a very productive season fishing-wise and full of surprises!

On a closing note, I have been thinking for a while now to offer guided fishing trips on my days off from work, gear can be provided and different disciplines and species targeted. Obviously this would be lures only (LRF, HRF, Light shore jigging etc) and with a strong emphasis on catch and release.
I believe that Skye is a true fishing paradise and with the summer fast approaching more species will become available so if you're interested please get in touch!

Tight Lines and more to come!


Gear used.
Rod:  MC KG Evolution KGS-902L, 2.7m, 7-23g.
Reel: Daiwa Freams 2500
Mainline: Duel Hardcore X4 PE 1.0
Leader: YGK Nitlon DFC flouorocarbon 16lbs
Lures: 16g-18g cheburashka with 3" UV, Fluo and Chartreuse paddletails.